Tough guy

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A tough guy is an intimidating, hypermasculine figure, usually with a large muscular build. Tough guys are often rugged, stoic, self-sufficient, no-nonsense individuals, and almost always excel in some form of fighting or athleticism. Tough guys are sometimes referred to as a "Man's man".

The term 'tough guy' is generally regarded as being American in origin. In Britain a 'tough guy' is rather referred to as a 'Hard Man'.

Examples

Celebrities, mainly action movie/series hero performers include:

Charles Bronson
Vin Diesel
Clint Eastwood
Lee Marvin
Telly Savalas: as Kojak the New York City police detective
Sylvester Stallone: as Rambo
James Coburn
Mr. T

For some such parts are rather atypical of their further carreer (sequeals excepted), e.g.

Bruce Willis in the Die Hard trilogy

Several tough guys were cast in movies because of their impressive physique and pre-acting macho image from body-building or the martial arts such as:

Many Ultimate Fighters can easily be defined as Tough Guys:

Some Gangster Rappers, or Hardcore Rappers, often associated with the violent criminality of American ghetto subculture:

Fictional tough guys

Fictional tough guys have been portrayed as scrawny and odd-looking, as well as muscular and imposing:

Marsellus Wallace from Pulp Fiction
Tony Soprano from The Sopranos

Tough guy

Examples

See also